Although the short (three-page) document appears to have avoided ACTA's mistake of mixing two totally different issues -- physical counterfeits and digital copying -- and concentrates on the former, there are still major ramifications for the online world, as EDRI points out:

Moreover, like ACTA, the initiative is also a thinly-veiled attempt to implant the US's approach in countries around the world:

The G8 document seeks to export the entire US policy on the role of intermediaries in the trade in physical counterfeits. In particular, it seeks to make American companies into a form of global non-judicial police force / government, with responsibilities ranging from "educating" citizens to policing and, ultimately, punishing companies and citizens on the basis of allegations.

The main way the new plan hopes to do that is through "voluntary cooperative efforts", of the kind employed by ACTA, SOPA and the planned six-strikes scheme in the US, which handily avoids the need for new legislation:

Promoting voluntary cooperative efforts to tackle the proliferation of illegal Internet pharmacies. G8 countries could pledge to facilitate voluntary cooperative efforts among businesses in the pharmaceutical supply chain to stem the flow of counterfeit medicines. The voluntary industry actions could include options ranging from the financial (e.g. blocking credit card payments), to the physical (e.g., shippers refusing transportation), to the virtual (e.g., taking appropriate action against unlawful websites).

The other interesting feature of the leaked "non-paper", as it calls itself, is the way that the Internet is being demonized for its involvement with the increased flow of fake medicines:

Reports of counterfeit drugs being found in U.S. supply chains are now a frequent occurrence. These drugs pose grave threats to public health. Increased access to the Internet, coupled with new methods of manufacturing and distributing illegal pharmaceuticals have created new challenges to safeguarding the legitimate supply chain.

It's hard not to see this as a further attempt to paint the Internet as a dangerous, lawless place that needs "taming" because of the "grave threats to public health". I suppose it's a change from asking us to think of the children.

They Will never stop us

And they won't.We will use the newest Tech to bypass your stupid attempts to stifle the Internet.We will use whatever means we have to in order to Maintain A Free Internet.
There are people who are a lot smarter than I am and they are working or studying IT & The Internets & Computer Tech.There will always be a way to get the message out.
Wake me up when the Revolution Starts.
I hate this Government.

I knew it! I knew this will become a trend and it's their new strategy. Instead of trying to pass a law, they will just try to coerce/convince big corporations into "voluntarily" doing the censorship and monitoring for them. We need to fight back on this before it spreads over entire industries and it's too late to change it back.

Monopoly, not Go or Sorry

Had seen some of this previously, and it appears to in some ways be a move by the pharmaceutical industry to maintain their exclusive production/distribution and 1000% to 2800% markup--which is a nice fat profit margin.

it makes no difference how many of these type of 'documents' get rejected, there will be another after another after another until the US gets exactly what it wants. this total fear of someone, somewhere, doing something that is against what the USA wants is brought on by itself. it's it's own extremely aggressive, self important attitude that pisses other countries off. leave others alone then the biggest thing to fear is fear itself!

Say goodbye to your affordable medicines

"Reports of counterfeit drugs being found in U.S. supply chains are now a frequent occurrence. These drugs pose grave threats to public health."

Many less affluent people (including seniors on fixed incomes) buy their doctor prescribed medicines from online pharmacies to save money. They are getting perfectly good quality generic versions of the drugs they need. However these drugs are technically "counterfeit" since the are not licensed and labeled for sale in country. Big pharma is seeking to increase their already huge profits by cutting off this source of affordable medicine for the poor!

It's a paradox if you think about it.. we wouldn't be where we are today, technology wise, without groups like the AA's, yet these groups are the ones trying to hold back the technology.... and in holding back the technology, they are causing the people to create new technologies to bypass these attempts to hold us back... round and round we go.. advancing technology at ever increasing speeds........

They keep this crap up, were going to be transferring files through "mind melding" pretty soon..... tinfoil hat anyone?

Re:

So the next step is to have the DOJ take out FedEx and UPS as they are a "conspiracy to commit priracy". Actually while their at it the government can take out itself by having the DOJ takedown the USPS while they are at it.

Re: Re: Say goodbye to your affordable medicines

In most cases, though, these days, the prescription has to be written by a practitioner licensed to do that kind of thing in the province where the prescription comes from.

That said, from what I do know of this is that seniors in border states will often come into Canada, get a GP here and then have the legal drugs sent into the USA on refills. For better or worse that's how most Canadian based online pharmacies have to operate these days.

I wonder if, just for a moment, someone stopped to consider that reports of counterfeits, real ones, are increasing because of wide spread internet access?

I said real to differentiate between those in US border states who get their meds from on line pharmacies Canada which are then legally shipped into the United States.

Not those which can cause sickness or death if taken or nothing at all in the case of "sugar pills". In the latter case beware of the placebo effect which can be extremely powerful at times so the person taking them does get some healing effects from them.

The Internet may make it easier to access so-called counterfeit drugs, say Tylenol 3 which is an over the counter drug in Canada but needs script in the USA.

That self same Web makes it far easier to spread news about dangerous fakes than was possible before.

What Big Pharma really hates, though, is that the Web makes it easier to report and spread news about undocumented side effects of "legitimate" drugs that can cause death, injury and addiction whether they're being used off label or not.

Fear, corp Money

Is it time to CUT the budget??
as our law maker MUST be making BANK, with all the Moo-la being paid to them..
What is it NOW?? 4-6?? and MORE on the way..

The problem has 2 things WRONG..
1. they are going to KEEP DOING IT, until they get it PAST..Until the gov makes it a LAW or part of constitution Against it happening.
2. while you DEBATE 1, another is sneaking up..and being done BEHIND YOU..

Re:

this sort of nonsense is why the right to keep and bear arms is in the US constitution, btw.

at what point does it become viable, or even Necessary, to take advantage of that?

because frankly i don't see this nonsense ending without the entire corrupt system being torn down and rebuilt on a different model, with the old elite dead (whether by violence or age, it matters little, but there must be a Break between the old way and the new, and simply having new people of a younger generation take up the roles of the old is the slowest way to change such things, if it works at all... and is perhaps too slow all togeather at this point.)